Psychology

Chair: Peter S. Kaplan
Program Assistant: Anne Beard
Administrative Assistant: Kimberly Hill
BA Undergraduate Advisor: Mitchell Handelsman
BS Undergraduate Advisor: Richard Allen
Director, Clinical Health Psychology Ph.D. Program: Kevin Masters
Director of Clinical Training: Abbie Beacham
Director, Clinical Psychology M.A. Program: Michael Zinser
Director, Psychological Services Center: Michael Zinser

Office: North Classroom, 5002
Telephone: 303-556-8565
Fax: 303-556-3520
Website: clas.ucdenver.edu/psychology/index.html

Undergraduate Programs
Graduate Programs

Faculty

Professors:

Mary Coussons-Read, PhD, University of North Carolina

James Grigsby, PhD, University of Colorado

Mitchell M. Handelsman, PhD, University of Kansas

Peter S. Kaplan, PhD, Indiana University

Kevin S. Masters, PhD, Brigham Young University

Associate Professors:

David Albeck, PhD, University of Colorado

Richard Allen, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Joy L. Berrenberg, PhD, University of Colorado

Evelinn Borrayo, PhD, University of North Texas

Michael Zinser, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Assistant Professors:

Elizabeth Sandin Allen, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Abbie Beacham, PhD, University of Louisville

Sondra Bland, PhD, University of Texas

Kristin Kilbourn, PhD, University of Miami

Senior Instructors:

Joan Bihun, PhD, Wayne State University

Kevin Everhart, PhD, University of South Carolina

Vivian Shyu, PhD, University of Denver

Emeritus Professors:

Rick M. Gardner, PhD, University of Nevada

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior, consisting of the following major areas of study: experimental psychology, biopsychology, animal behavior, developmental psychology, social psychology, cognitive psychology, personality, industrial/organizational psychology and abnormal psychology. The requirements for the major are designed to introduce the student to the spectrum of psychology, including an early exposure to research methods and statistics.

The psychology major prepares students for employment and for graduate study in psychology and related fields. The psychology department also offers an MA in psychology with a clinical emphasis and a PhD in clinical health psychology.

Undergraduate

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR: BA

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR: BS

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Honors

There are two ways in which a student graduating with a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology can graduate with honors. First, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) awards the honor of graduating “with distinction” primarily based on the student having a high overall grade point average. See the CLAS general information section on Undergraduate Policies and Procedures, Academic Honors , in the current catalog for further information.

The second form of honors, “Latin honors,” is awarded by individual departments within CLAS, including psychology. The CU Denver Department of Psychology has approved a very rigorous set of requirements for Latin honors. Successful completion of an honors project is at least a year-long, multi-faceted process in which the student makes a contribution to our knowledge in psychology. A student who satisfies these requirements will have truly earned a noteworthy academic achievement of which they rightfully should be proud.

Students interested in research are encouraged to pursue opportunities as early in their academic career as possible. These early research experiences can be useful in helping formulate research ideas and hypotheses that can form the basis of an honors thesis project. Listed below are the policies and requirements for completing an honors project.

An honors thesis can take one of the following forms:

An original empirical study designed and carried out by the student. The experimental design must be substantially complex to warrant honors. Honors students may collect their own data for this project or may use archival data for the purposes of answering their own original question. A research question is considered to be substantially complex enough if the analyzed data would be of high enough quality to be presented at a local research meeting.
A substantive, integrative library review in an area approved by the honors committee, culminating in a high quality review article which includes proposed research directions designed by the student to gather knowledge lacking in the current scientific literature.
A substantive, integrative critical analysis of a major theoretical issue in the field of psychology approved by the honors committee and culminating in a high quality theoretical paper.

Eligibility

To be eligible to graduate with honors in psychology, a CU Denver psychology major must meet the following requirements:

Student must have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher at the start of the project (75 credit hours completed toward the degree)
The student must have a psychology GPA of 3.5 or higher in psychology courses taken at CU Denver

Students interested in earning honors should consult with the psychology faculty during their junior year. More information about honors projects can be found on the psychology department Web site.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR

Graduate

The psychology department offers a master of arts (MA) degree in psychology with an emphasis in clinical psychology and a doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree in clinical health psychology. In general, our programs train students within the context of the scientist-practitioner model. That is, we value an integrated approach to both the science and practice of clinical psychology. Our training emphasizes the contribution of research to the understanding, treatment and prevention of human problems, and the application of knowledge that is grounded in scientific evidence.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MA IN PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL EMPHASIS

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PhD IN CLINICAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

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